Theatre Review: Bonnie & Clyde Pro Shot

Hi besties! Welcome to my first theatre review! If you’ve talked about musicals with me for like 5 minutes, then you know that one of my favorite musicals of all time is Bonnie & Clyde. I’ve followed the show since it opened on Broadway in 2011, and though it only ran for a month (RIP) it became so special to me and I’ve been obsessed ever since. Through the years, Bonnie & Clyde has grown in popularity, which has brought me so much joy, and I was SO excited when they announced that the 2022 staged concert performances on the West End would be recorded and released!

The pro shot was released on June 24th of this year, and I finally had the opportunity to watch it over the weekend and thought it would be perfect as the first theatre review on the blog! 

Now, sit back, relax, turn on the Bonnie & Clyde cast recording, and get ready to hear all my thoughts! (It’s a long one friends, get ready!)

Show Synopsis: In Depression-era Texas, a young Bonnie Parker falls in love with Clyde Barrow, a criminal on the run from the law. Their love affair soon spirals out of control, as Bonnie & Clyde commit a series of bank robberies. As their notoriety — and body count — rises, the ill-fated lovers find themselves racing to the top of the Public Enemies list. 
Title: Bonnie & Clyde
Book: Ivan Menchell
Lyrics: Don Black
Music: Frank Wildhorn
Filmed: January, 2022
Director: Nick Winston
Starring: Jeremy Jordan (Clyde Barrow), Frances Mayli McCann (Bonnie Parker), George Maguire (Buck Barrow), Natalie McQueen (Blanche Barrow), Trevor Dion Nicholas (Preacher), Liam Tamne (Ted)
Full Cast: Casey Al-Shaqsy, Simon Anthony, Albert Atack, Gillian Bevan, Eloise Davies, Adrian Grove, Debbie Kurup, Matthew Malthouse, Jeremy Secomb, Bea Ward, Russell Wilcox, Julie Yammanee
Content Warnings: Death, murder, blood, guns, gun violence, implied sexual assault/rape
Rating: ★★★★.5

Full disclaimer before we get started, I did not see Bonnie & Clyde on Broadway. I saw the Regional Premiere (where a friend of mine was Young Clyde) and I’ve watched the Broadway 👢a lot…a lot… a lot, and I bought the script when the West End production shop had it available, so any references to changes are based on the 👢and the script.

I won’t lie, I think I put off watching it for a little while out of fear that it would disappoint me. I love this show so much; it’s so special to me, and I just feared that it wouldn’t have the same magic that I’ve come to associate with the show. Why did I think this? Truly I have no idea, but I think a lot of Broadway fans can relate to always feeling emotionally tied to the first version of a show that you experienced, so sometimes seeing a new interpretation and staging can feel a little scary. Regardless, I do think I was a little nervous about it and that held me back, but I’m so glad I finally watched it because I loved it and that magic is still there for me.

To me, one of the best things about this pro-shot was watching Jeremy Jordan revisit this role. In my opinion, there was a freeness to his portrayal of Clyde that wasn’t there before. That’s not to say that he wasn’t as dark and gritty as Clyde needs to be, of course he was, but to me, he felt less restrained than he seemed during the Broadway run. I think a couple of things play into that; he’s revisiting a role that he’s played before so he already had personal characterization to build upon this time around, and he’s a more seasoned performer than he was in 2011. Some moments that particularly stood out to me were his Raise a Little Hell, and his delivery of the line “Don’t you ever talk to me that way, Sugar” was particularly astounding; I was scared of him when he said that line to Bonnie, it was incredible. His Broadway Clyde and West End Clyde simultaneously felt familiar and brand new, which I think really speaks to the type of performer he is. It’s a role he’s played before, but he kept everything fresh and exciting.

The role of Bonnie is so personal to me; I can’t tell you why, it’s not like I’m similar to Bonnie in any way (though I too, have a “hat face” as she says), but I feel so deeply connected to her, so for me, having Frances Mayli McCann, an Asian actress (Frances is Chinese) play her meant the world to me. To play Bonnie Parker, you need to be captivating; she’s the “it girl” of the show, the real Bonnie was an “it girl” of her generation, and Frances exudes star quality. Her voice…she truly has one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard. It’s so clear and strong and bright, I just love her voice, I could listen to her sing all day long. I thought she played Bonnie so beautifully; one moment that I especially took note of was when Clyde sings “You’ve got that ‘it girl’ look” in This World Will Remember Me, her entire face lit up and you could see just how desperately Bonnie wants to get out of Texas, how badly she wants to be a star and how she’s willing to do anything to make it happen. It was so subtle, and perfectly done, as was much of her performance. Additionally, her southern accent is incredible; I gotta give her serious props for that because she blew me away.

I thought Frances and Jeremy had great chemistry and worked so well together and their voices blended beautifully. Their comedic and romantic scenes felt so natural; the scenes before How ‘Bout a Dance and Bonnie were so funny with their “You wrote a song/poem about me? Oh, you are so in love, baby” lines, I had the biggest smile on my face because they were too sweet. The moments of anger and desperation were perfect; the show rides or dies on the connection of your leads, and they completely nailed the dynamic between Bonnie and Clyde.

I really liked George Maguire as Buck and thought that he was very charismatic. He and Jeremy worked so well together — oh gosh, when Clyde talks about how Buck’s death is his fault just broke my heart — and When I Drive was one of the most fun parts of the show, as it should be. He played Buck’s struggle of wanting to go straight for Blanche and wanting to stay by Clyde’s side so well, you could see how conflicted he was. Additionally, he and Natalie McQueen were so sweet together as Buck and Blanche. That’s What You Call a Dream was so loving and heartwarming. Just as you could feel Buck’s struggle to not go back to a life of crime to be with Blanche, you could feel how desperately she loved him and wanted a simple life with him. Buck’s death and the God’s Arms are Always Open (Reprise) were gut wrenching, I felt so sad for them. 

While in general, I liked Natalie’s performance, there were a few things that I didn’t love. She was honestly so funny, especially in the way that she spoke to both Clyde and Bonnie (the sass, my god) and she did a great job of showing Blanche’s self-righteousness but I felt that at some points it was a little too obvious and in your face. I wanted a little more subtly from her, but I do think that she gave a lovely performance. I just wish they gave her a better wig, I was not a fan of that wig, especially for a character that is a hairdresser.

The Barrow Gang all worked wonderfully together and their dynamics were on point. The way that Jeremy played his scenes with Natalie was hilarious; you really could see just how much Clyde and Blanche don’t get along, and they argue the whole show, but then he asks her to dance in the safe house before the shootout and it’s the sweetest thing. The scene between Bonnie and Blanche before Dyin’ Ain’t So Bad was so good; the smug way that Natalie delivered “You know they’re gonna kill Clyde when they catch him, and they’re probably gonna kill you too” to Frances’ quick delivery of “They better” and the subtle change on Natalie’s face was just brilliant. Blanche and Bonnie see each other as their complete opposite, and while they are very different, at that moment they both see the biggest thing that they have in common; they love the Barrow men and will not live their lives without them. It was a beautiful subtle moment between these two women that have been at odds for the entire show.

As expected, there were changes from the original Broadway run to the concert production. Again, full disclaimer, I don’t know if these changes were made for the West End run or only changed for the concert version but, for many people, this version will be the only version of Bonnie & Clyde that they’re able to experience, and if it is, I think they’re missing some key elements to Bonnie’s character, and therefore a few key elements to her relationship to Clyde (and her mother). This is through no fault of McCann’s, but there were script changes that I feel reduced a bit of her character. 

I was surprised that they cut all of the dialogue between Young Bonnie and Emma (Bonnie’s mother) during Picture Show. The short scenes between verses of Picture Show show us from the start that Clyde was prone to getting in trouble and has an obsession with Al Capone, and Young Bonnie’s dialogue plants the seeds of how desperately she’s always craved fame and notoriety. We get that throughout the song, so if that was the only thing these scenes showed, I don’t think it would be that big of a deal. However, one of the little scene interludes is when Bonnie is 15 and tells her mother that she’s going to marry Roy and that he’s going to take them to California, aka, he’s going to help make her dreams come true. That clearly doesn’t happen, and knowing that gives us a bit more insight into Bonnie’s character once we’re in the present timeline.

They also removed the scene after How ‘Bout a Dance at Bonnie’s house when Emma comes home to find Clyde there. It’s the first meeting between Emma and Clyde and you learn a lot in that scene. You get to see Emma’s immediate dislike for Clyde and learn more about Clyde’s childhood. More importantly, it’s when Clyde finds out that Bonnie is married to Roy, but it’s only in name as Roy went to prison three years ago and then once he got out “wasn’t interested in being a husband” as Bonnie says. 

This comes into play later in the scene when Buck and Blanche meet Bonnie for the first time. Bonnie says to Clyde, “I want you to be a man, honey, not a thug” and then Clyde slaps her. To me, a big part of that reaction comes from knowing that her ex was in prison and knowing that Bonnie does not think highly of him. I’ve always seen that bit as Clyde thinking that Bonnie was comparing him to Roy and that, along with the idea of going back to jail was a trigger to Clyde. Removing the scene with the information about Bonnie and Roy also means that the first time the audience hears about her marriage to Roy is later in the first act when Bonnie is talking to her mother and there’s no explanation of what happened to Roy, so it just makes Bonnie seem like a cheater (which, I guess is technically true since they’re not divorced, but they’re just as good as divorced since he walked out on her). I felt that removing those scenes reduced Bonnie’s character slightly. Those scenes also show the difference between Clyde and Roy. Roy goes to jail, comes out, and doesn’t choose to stay with Bonnie, Clyde on the other hand, gets out of jail and doesn’t leave her.

They didn’t remove nearly as much for Clyde, but there was one scene at the beginning of act 2 that they cut that kinda bummed me out. After Made in America there’s a scene at a general store that ultimately leads to Clyde killing a police officer. The reason why I think this scene is important is because this is the first time Clyde kills just to kill — yes, the police officer pulls a gun on Clyde too, but Clyde has a choice. Don’t shoot and go back to jail, or shoot and seal his fate forever. Truthfully, I understand why Clyde sees going to jail as worse than death, what he went through in jail was something that no one deserves to go through, but it’s a choice he makes nonetheless. This scene is a big turning point in Clyde’s character arc. In the Broadway production, after he kills the police officer, the world seems to stop, and then Young Clyde comes on stage singing his part of Picture Show, “Bang bang, you’re dead, bang bang, you’re dead, ain’t nothin’ I can’t do with a gun” and it’s such a chilling moment. You see the boy Clyde once was, and he’s now fulfilled this childhood mantra that he had that used to be a joke but is now a reality.

A small change to this production that I loved took place during the shoot-out scene in act 2. On Broadway, when Clyde is deciding to either run and hide or shoot at the police, Young Clyde comes into the scene, and Clyde delivers the following monologue,

“It all comes so quick and it happens so fast – you’re there and they’re there – they’ve got guns and you’ve got guns – you know it’s going to be you or them and there’s no time to think about anything else. You grit your teeth and come down on it. Then it’s over and done and there’s no goin’ back. You killed a man. You see him lyin’ there if you have time to wait and look. Life’s gone. You took it. And he’ll never live and breathe and laugh again. But if he beat you to it, you’d be lying there like that. It gets mixed up. The whole business. Them killing you, you killing them. You wonder why you were born. Why anybody was born. Why God should bother with the whole mess. Right Sheriff?”

In this version, they had Young Clyde saying it to Clyde, giving the scene a whole new spin. The original feels a bit like Clyde is talking to that little boy still inside of him who feels guilty about taking someone’s life, and justifying why he’s made the choices he has. Having Young Clyde deliver the monologue completely changes the scene. It comes off as almost patronizing, like his young self is mocking the person that he’s become. I do think, if we had the scene earlier with Young Clyde coming in and singing part of Picture Show after Clyde killed the cop in the general store, it would’ve added to the loss of innocence that he goes through in the show. 

I believe that’s why Young Clyde and Young Bonnie appear throughout certain scenes — side note, I really want to direct this show one day, and I’d like to play with this idea a lot more. Oh, but the most chilling part of the scene that gives me goosebumps just to think about, was toward the end of that monologue when Clyde raised the gun to point at his young self just before turning around to shoot the sheriff; I literally gasped when it happened.

As this was a concert version, the set design was pared back — RIP to the car and Jeremy Jordan in a bathtub in HD — and I liked it! I liked the use of the platforms, though I don’t know if I loved the bed and dresser being on stage for the whole show. The lamp and chair didn’t bother me as much as those pieces worked with most scenes, but the bed did kind of throw me at first, but I got used to it. The lighting was fantastic; some of my favorite lighting moments were during Raise a Little Hell and Raise a Little Hell (Reprise) the lighting changes during the tone changes in the song really hit. I thought the costumes were great, the orchestrations sounded amazing; everything about it was top-tier.

Honestly, there were so many things that I loved about this pro shot and I could go on and on, I quite literally am stopping myself from talking about more — oh, wait, special shout out to Trevor Dion Nicholas as the Preacher because I have never been that into God’s Arms Are Always Open or Made in America, I will watch/listen to him all day long. Except for those few little changes that I mentioned, I thought this was an incredible pro shot and I know I’ll be watching it many times! 

Phew, we made it! My first (incredibly long) theatre review. It is a good thing that I don’t write theatre reviews professionally, isn’t it? Have you watched the Bonnie & Clyde pro shot? If you haven’t, were you planning to or are you now interested in it?

Until next time! 💜